The Morbid and Sultry Tales of Genevieve Clare by J.B. Hartnett Page B

haven of the bathroom, I noticed there was a clawfoot bathtub…romantic. But there were also toiletries, a razor, a bar of soap in a dish that was half gone. It was then I realized Ahren lived here. I finished up, checking myself in the mirror, and found him sitting in a wooden dining chair, his thumb tapping the table nervously.
    I set my bag, which was still over my shoulder, down on the bed and asked, “How long have you lived twenty minutes from me?”
    “Five years,” he replied.
    I sat down on the bed and, lucky it was there, because my legs would have gone right out from under me.
    Five years. Five long years.
    “No one told me. Someone from town, they would have seen you if you came into town and—”
    “I don’t go into town, Gen. I have a house in Mill Valley, but I come here on the weekends.”
    I found my strength, stood up, and moved the short distance between us to stand in front of him. Touching my hand to the side of his clean-shaven face, I asked softly, “So you could be close to them?”
    I’d been to his parents’ graves many times, and I always left my car at the Denny’s in Mill Valley when I had a funeral there. “I told them my visits might eventually become less frequent when I move back to Greer’s Rest,” he said, pulling me into his lap.
    “I told mine not to let anything happen to either of us.” I grinned.
    “I might have said something along those lines, as well. I think we’re good.”
    “I have to tell you something, Ahren. It’s important.”
    His hands were slowly opening my coat, one big brass button at a time.
    “Later,” he said as his lips touched the skin below my ear. He pushed his chair back from the table and pulled me tighter to his chest.
    “Please, don’t forget,” I said as my coat dropped on the floor beside us, his hands moving across my shoulders.
    “I won’t, but whatever you have to say to me, this separation, it ends today. I’ll go at whatever speed you need. For your heart, for your head, you tell me. But this is it for me, Gen. You and me.” His lips touched mine in the softest kiss he’d ever given me as he said, “I’ll share your smile, your laughter, your generosity, and your friendship, but I won’t share your body, and I won’t share your heart.” Another touch of his lips to mine, he ended his speech by saying, “I will not let you go again. I know you, you know I do. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
    I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it on top of my coat. Sitting there in my jeans and bra, Ahren looked me over. He still had on a thick, generous hoodie which he unzipped and shrugged his arms out of. His t-shirt joined mine as he slipped the hoodie back on and wrapped me in it, skin-to-skin. I closed my eyes and took in the feeling of his body pressed to mine.
    “Why did this take so long?” I asked.
    “I guess we both had to decide it was worth it.”
    His words jolted me.
    I sat up and looked into his eyes as he explained. “Like I said in the letter I sent to Rocky, I’ve decided it’s worth the risk of having you for one day then losing you, than never having you at all.”
    “I have to spend the night with you,” I said.
    “I was hoping you would.” His body relaxed and his confidence returned. He’d been waiting for me, for this night, for a long time, so I wasn’t surprised.
    “Not because of what you’re thinking though,” I said cautiously.
    His thumbs moved along my jaw and pulled at my bottom lip. “Talk to me,” he commanded.
    “You’re going to think I’m nuts,” I warned.
    “Probably not. And if you don’t hurry it up, it’s going to have to wait.” He moved my hand I’d rested on his pec, moving over his piercing to the top of his jeans. My breath hitched when my finger hit wetness from the top of his cock.
    As much as I wanted him now, and by now I meant nine years ago, I had to get this off my chest before we went any further.
    “Okay,” I began and cleared my throat.